Prosecutors in the Shadow McClaine murder case want the death penalty on the table when her ex-husband stands trial.

Jamal Williams-McCray is charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy. Prosecutors held a second preliminary hearing this week, asking that Lt. Col. James Ewing add counts of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Williams-McCray is accused of hiring another soldier, former Spc. Charles Robinson III, to kill McClaine in 2016.

Jamal Williams-McCray(Photo: MCSO)

Williams-McCray and McClaine were divorced, and he had been accused of raping her.

On Friday, Robinson testified by phone that Williams-McCray offered him $10,000 to kill McClaine and was with him when Robinson killed her.

The additional charges could set the stage for a capital murder case because of aggravating circumstances.

Capt. Elliot Pernula, who is prosecuting the case for the United States, asked Ewing to recommend it as a potential death penalty case.

But Williams-McCray's attorney, Andy Vickery, said there were 10 good reasons to avoid a capital case.

"It has become crystal clear that is the real reason we are here," Vickery said.

He said that when Ewing made recommendations May 22, he did not find probable cause for it to be a capital case, and prosecutors want another "bite at the apple."

Spc. Charles Robinson(Photo: MCSO)

He said Robinson was afraid of facing the death penalty and that is why he pleaded guilty for a 25-year sentence in exchange for implicating Williams-McCray.

"The linchpin of that deal is to point the finger right at this man — this soldier," he said.

Among the reasons Vickery said Ewing should not recommend a capital case are the expense, there have been no military executions since 1961, only four men are on military death row and are unlikely to have their sentences carried out, endless appeals, fewer states carrying out executions show a changing attitude, racial imbalances, lack of being a deterrent, no capital-qualified counsel, lack of time to explore mitigating factors and no credible evidence of aggravating factors.

Vickery said reasons given as aggravating factors, such as it being a murder for hire, depend only on the word of Robinson, who admitted lying to investigators before his plea deal.

Prosecutors say Ewing should consider only "the evidence and the law," and not the cost of trial or frequency of executions.

Ewing said he would consider the arguments and evidence submitted by both sides before issuing his recommendations at a later date.

Robinson, Williams-McCray and McClaine were all assigned to the 101st Airborne Division.

Reach Stephanie Ingersoll at singersoll@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0267 and on Twitter @StephLeaf.